Canned artichokes add a light punch to salads, pastas, sandwiches and pizzas. They can be blitzed with spinach and cream cheese to make a creamy dip and added to a charcuterie and cheese platter for variety. But one of my favourite ways to use artichoke hearts is to slightly char them in a hot pan then drizzled with a nutty brown butter sauce and sprinkled with salty capers.
Pair this flavour combo with cod, or any mild-tasting whitefish that won’t fight with the flavours of the artichokes or brown butter. A small grain such as couscous does an excellent job of soaking up the brown butter.
Seared Cod With Artichoke Hearts and Brown Butter
2 tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (60 mL) couscous
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (90 mL) water
1 tsp (5 mL) olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tsp (10 mL) olive oil
6 oz (170g) cod fillets, patted dry with paper towel
3 cannedartichoke hearts halved
Capers, for garnish
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and stir often with spatula until milk solids begin to brown and butter develops a golden-brown colour and a nutty aroma, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and pour butter into a heatproof bowl. Set aside.
Using the same saucepan, add water and bring to a rapid boil over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sprinkle in couscous, stir, remove from heat and cover for 10 minutes or until couscous is tender and fluffy.
Meanwhile in a medium-sized skillet, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear cod fillets and artichoke hearts until fish is opaque and flaky and artichokes are slightly charred. Turn off heat.
Transfer couscous, cod and artichokes to a serving plate. Pour brown butter in hot skillet, using residual heat to warm up butter. Drizzle butter over plate and garnish with capers.
Serve immediately.
Makes one serving.
karonliu@thestar.ca
karonliu@thestar.ca
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